Tang Tian dribbled the ball to the frontcourt.

At McHale's signal from the sidelines, the Rockets began to double-team.

Tang Tian passed the ball to Ariza, who didn't take the open three-pointer and charged straight inside with the ball.

Whiteside held Asik, Aminu also held Bosh, and Ariza scored with a quick layup.

The Pelicans' players worked together, and Tang Tian got another assist.

Bosh immediately responded with a three-pointer from outside the arc.

The Rockets were able to reach fourth in the West mainly because of their offense.

After the first quarter, the Pelicans led by a narrow margin of 30 to 28.

Both sides had a shooting percentage of over 50%, meaning neither side could really defend the other in this quarter.

In the second quarter, during the bench rotation, the offensive firepower of both sides weakened, and Jokic continued to show his talent.

Not only could he dominate Motiejunas in the low post, but his passing completely revitalized the Pelicans' offense.

Since his return, his performance had been very stable, and the Pelicans' coaching staff had realized that he was more suitable to be the team's sixth man than Gordon.

Thanks to this offensive wave, the Pelicans led the Rockets by double digits, 60 to 50, at the end of the first half.

Tang Tian had 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in the first half, which was quite impressive.

Although he had a feeling, Tang Tian didn't pay attention to his stats. When Borrego showed them to him at halftime, he was a little dumbfounded.

These guys were just too adorable.

However, it didn't seem like a bad thing.

It would be shameful to刷数据 (shuā shùjù – frantically pad stats) regardless of whether the team won or lost.

But the problem was that the Pelicans were currently leading by 10 points!

Back in the second half, the Rockets slowed down the pace of the game and started playing positional offense and focusing on defense against the Pelicans.

Bosh began to show his power in positional warfare. With Davis gone, no one on the Pelicans could effectively limit him in positional battles.

This was also the biggest difference between the Rockets and last season; the help that an All-Star could bring to the team was obvious.

After three quarters, the Rockets narrowed the score gap to 72 to 77.

With one quarter left in the game, both sides still had a chance to win.

Tang Tian played the entire quarter, and his personal stats had reached 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Jokic once again unleashed his power, assisting Gordon and Morrow to hit consecutive three-pointers, and the Pelicans reopened the gap to double digits.

Most rookies need time to grow, but he seemed to be a near-finished product when he arrived in the NBA.

The Rockets had no choice. Only two minutes into the fourth quarter, they had to replace Harden and Bosh ahead of schedule.

They clearly wanted to win this Christmas game.

Jokic was comfortable playing against Motiejunas, but he was at a disadvantage against Bosh, who pulled him out for a three-pointer and then faked him out under the basket.

The Rockets quickly narrowed the score, and in the blink of an eye, only 4 points separated them.

Williams also replaced Tang Tian and Whiteside.

Both sides entered the final battle ahead of schedule.

The Rockets had possession, and Bosh went to the low post against Whiteside.

Whiteside defended very hard on this play, and when Bosh turned around for a fadeaway, he rushed out and gave him a big block.

After the block, he roared excitedly.

They were all helping Tang Tian get his stats, but the premise was winning the game, otherwise those stats would be meaningless.

It wasn't just Whiteside; the defensive intensity of the other players on the Pelicans was also increasing. They were all very clear about this.

Harden's near-buzzer three-pointer hit the iron, and Whiteside secured the defensive rebound.

Cole dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Tang Tian.

The Rockets double-teamed, and Tang Tian passed the ball to Morrow, who made an open three-pointer.

Tang Tian also got his 10th assist of the game.

Holiday, Ariza, Morrow, Teletovic…

The Pelicans had undergone personnel changes in the past two years, and unknowingly, they had accumulated a large number of high-quality shooters.

The score difference was back to 7 points.

"Go! Rockets!"

The fans at the scene cheered for the Rockets.

Harden showed his superstar style, hitting a step-back three-pointer from a step away from the three-point line.

The Rockets once again narrowed the score to 4 points.

This ball further ignited the home fans' emotions.

"Defense! Defense!"

The shouts for defense were also endless.

Cole continued to give the ball to Tang Tian in the frontcourt.

After Morrow made that shot, the Rockets didn't double-team again.

Tang Tian faced Brewer, accelerating after a change of direction, followed by an abrupt stop and pull-up jumper.

A crucial shot.

"Swish!"

It went in cleanly.

The two had a shootout at the start, and now they were continuing it at the crucial moment of the fourth quarter!

Harden continued to hold the ball in the frontcourt. Seeing that the Pelicans weren't double-teaming, everyone, including Bosh, spread out.

Harden went one-on-one against Ariza.

Continuous crossovers, acceleration, stop and step-back.

His movements were seamless, but Ariza's defense was well in place, his long arms covering Harden's vision.

"Clang!"

The rebound bounced off the rim.

"Beep!"

But at this moment, the referee blew the whistle, indicating that Ariza's defense was a foul.

Ariza couldn't believe it after landing and held his head in his hands.

It was a phantom foul.

Williams protested loudly on the sidelines, but the referee wouldn't change the call once the whistle was blown.

Harden had two free throw opportunities.

Taking advantage of this dead ball situation, both sides brought back all their starters.

Amidst the cheers of "MVP" from the crowd, Harden made both free throws, bringing his personal score to 30 points.

Still a 4-point difference.

In the Pelicans' frontcourt offense, Tang Tian shook off Brewer after receiving the ball and accelerated into the paint.

Bosh came out to help defend.

Tang Tian went up strong. The two had a mid-air collision, but Tang Tian still managed to score after the contact, drawing a defensive foul on Bosh.

A tough 2+1.

The scene erupted.

Against strong teams like the Spurs, Tang Tian's physical exertion was significant at the end of the game due to various targeted defenses, and his shooting percentage would fluctuate.

But against the Rockets, he was clearly much more relaxed. With enough stamina, scoring at crucial moments was a sure thing.

Steadily making the free throw amidst the boos, Tang Tian also got his 28th point of the game and helped the Pelicans reopen the score difference to 7 points.

In the Rockets' offense, it was still Harden's isolation play. This time, Ariza didn't push forward with his hand, but still provided enough defensive pressure.

"Clang!"

Harden's shot still didn't go in.

This time the referee didn't blow the whistle, and Whiteside fought hard to grab the defensive rebound under the basket.

With about 7 minutes left in the game and a 7-point difference, the Pelicans now had a chance to break the deadlock.

Holiday dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. Tang Tian ran an off-ball play at this time.

There was a lot of physical contact on the court. When Tang Tian turned around, he saw that his defender had unexpectedly become Harden, and he immediately reached out for the ball.

Holiday passed the ball to him, and the others quickly spread out.

Bosh helped defend from the inside.

Seeing this, Tang Tian took a step back and shot a pull-up jumper.

Harden was too heavy and couldn't keep up with Tang Tian's rhythm.

A crucial shot.

"Clang!"

A little bit of bad luck.

Asik tightly boxed out Whiteside under the basket, and neither of them could jump.

Bosh turned and ran back.

But at this moment, a figure rushed into the paint before him.

It was Tang Tian!

Harden's poor defense was related to his weight, but it was also related to his defensive habits. He didn't like boxing out!

Tang Tian easily rushed into the Rockets' restricted area with this acceleration.

He was not disturbed, jumping high and directly grabbing the rebounded ball and slamming it in.

"Boom!"

He dunked in his own missed shot!

The scene was buzzing.

This goal gave the Pelicans a 9-point lead!

McHale called a timeout.

At this moment, the LED screen at the scene displayed Tang Tian's stats for the game.

30 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists.

That dunk gave Tang Tian 2 points and 1 rebound, and he got the first triple-double of his career!